N is for New Romantics

The New Romantics were part of the New Wave music movement of the 80s which started in London in 1980. They were a group of musicians who were brought up watching television and believing Andy Warhol's words that everyone would have their fifteen minutes of fame.   They wanted their 15 minutes and more, but they didn't want to be relegated to hearing their music on the radio they wanted to own the television sets and saw the 'whole look' of the band as being just as important as the sound.

The New Romantics evolved from the Blitz Kids in London and almost overnight similar groups were popping up in other parts of the country most notably a certain group of five guys in Birmingham who named themselves after an evil character from the movie Barbarella - yes I'm talking about Duran Duran!

The problem was that the New Romantics who were originally referred to as the Cult With No Name weren't easily categorized which meant that you had bands such as Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran, Human League, Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow all labelled as the same.

M is for Madonna

Madonna sprang onto our radio sets during the 80s and hasn't left since!   Her 1983 singles Holiday and Lucky Star were pure 80s pop and exactly what our dance floors needed at the time.   Her style was copied by girls around the world and her second album was just as popular with songs such as Like A Virgin & Material Girl Madonna really was on the fast track to superstardom.

Madonna showed her versatility during the 80s earning her the title of Queen of Reinvention and her music ranged from the very poppy sound of Holiday to the more mature sounding Live to Tell.

In total Madonna had 4 chart topping albums filled with numerous hit singles throughout the 80s, but she wasn't content with that!   Madonna also decided to try her hand at acting during the 80s as well, in 1985 she starred in the cult comedy about mistaken identity - Desperately Seeking Susan.   That wasn't the only movie she was to star in during the 80s, however and you can check out the rest of Madonna's 80s movies and musical success in my Madonna, Madonna, Madonna post.

Madonna wasn't just about the music and the acting though she also influenced fashion with millions of young girls embracing her look.   I admit I had black lace fingerless gloves with lots of bangles a la Madonna, and I wasn't even a huge Madonna fan!

L is for Leg Warmers

Who lived through the 80s without a pair of leg warmers?   Tell the truth you had leg warmers didn't you?   I don't know whether to blame the movie Fame or the television series or whether it was really Flashdance that galvanized us all into wearing leg warmers in various different colors.

Then when it appeared as though leg warmers were gone from the fashion scene what took it's place?   Slouch socks!   Now I must admit I thought slouch socks, leggings and ankle boots were a pretty good look for me along with a long 'sloppy joe' style jumper :D   It was certainly better than my goth/punk look that I loved at the time and shudder at the memory of now.......luckily there's no photographic evidence of that particular fashion stage of my teen years.

So tell the truth - did you wear leg warmers?   Just take a breath and repeat after me -

Hello my name is insert your name and I wore leg warmers during the 80s and I was cool!

K is for KITT

I can't believe I've still managed to keep up with this challenge - for new readers I'm competing in an A-Z Blogging Challenge where every day (except Sundays) we have to blog out way through the alphabet.   Today we get to K which just has to be KITT as in my favorite star of Knight Rider.

Michael Knight was the character that David Hasselhoff played before he started sporting swimming trunks in the popular Bay Watch television series.   Although he was supposed to be the star of the show in my eyes KITT was always the star :D   KITT stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand and was a car that could drive by itself and talk as well!

I can't tell you the amount of times I would watch Knight Rider and think to myself one day I'm going to own a Kitt all of my own.   A few years ago I would've thought that the time was a long way off, but with in car navigation systems and the like maybe, just maybe I will own my very own Kitt.

Which Knight Rider character was your favorite?

J is for John

John Lennon killed in December 1980 - I can remember hearing the news and (for once) being completely speechless.   Give Peace a Chance and Imagine both hit the UK charts again after his death and I can remember the video for Imagine (one of my all time favorite songs) and thinking to myself one day I will have a house with a large room that has french windows and a white piano in it and nothing else.........it didn't happen by the way.

John Hinkley attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan in March 1981 in an attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster - I really don't think assassinating a president is the way to impress a list celebs, but....

John Hughes - the king of teen movies during the 80s from Ferris Bueller to Sixteen Candles and beyond - John Hughes was the man who teens could relate to and he proved it over and over again.   What do you think was the best John Hughes movie?

Elton John kept bringing the hits throughout the 80s with classics such as Nikita and I'm Still Standing along with I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues and so many more.

John Candy - talented actor and comedian John Candy made us laugh during the 80s with his roles in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and (my favorite of his movies) Uncle Buck.

John Forsythe - During the 80s John Forsythe was Blake Carrington in the 80s glam soap - Dynasty, an absolutely must watch program from 1981 - 1989.

John Cussack - In my opinion John Cussack is a much under-rated actor and his breakout role (I think) was the 1989 film - Say Anything.

John Paul II - Pope for the entire 80s, he even survived an assassination attempt during the 80s.   We certainly had a number of these (some successful, some not) - Lennon, Reagan, Olaf Palme, John Paul II, JR Ewing.....have I missed anyone?

Jon Bon Jovi - Okay it's Jon not John, but how can you not mention the man who puts his hand up as the cause of the hole in our ozone layer because of the amount of hair spray he used during the 80s?   I loved Bon Jovi and I can't think of them without getting at least one of their songs stuck in my head, at the moment it's You Give Love a Bad Name.

There were so many more Johns that were members of groups such as Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Hall and Oates.   I'm sure I've missed quite a number of them so which John who was famous during the 80s do you remember best?

I is for Idol

I is for Idol and I'm not talking about American Idol or any other reality show, no I'm talking about the pop prince of punk himself - Billy Idol.   80s music wouldn't be the same without White Wedding and Mony Mony, both songs are sure to get people singing and dancing when they're played at parties even in this millenium.

I loved these two songs, but even more I loved Billy Idol in the 1998 movie - The Wedding Singer.   One of two movies in which Drew Barrymore has played homage to the 80s.   I forget where I heard Billy refered to as the pop prince of punk but I thought it was a great way of describing him - what do you think?

But right now - it's a nice day to start again.   It's a nice day for a white wedding.....

H is for Human & Heaven

For those of you who are new to this blog we're part of an A-Z Blogging Challenge where each day of April (except Sundays) we write a post on a different letter of the alphabet and today we've got up to the letter H.   As this is an eighties blog the H has to be related to something from the 80s and I've chosen to talk about two musical groups - Human League and Heaven 17.

There is actually a connection between these two groups, you see Martyn Ware and Ian Marsh were the founding members of both groups - did you know that?   The story starts in Sheffield Martyn, Ian and a third person -  Glen Gregory - were all at school together.   They were all friends who dreamt of being pop stars as many of us do.

Martyn & Ian founded a group called The Future and invited Glen to join them as they needed a singer, unfortunately (or fortunately as musical history would discover) he was unavailable and so they then asked a singer by the name of Phil Oakley to join them.   The Future would become the Human League.

After a difference of opinion Martyn and Ian left the Human League and this time their third friend Glen was available to join them and Heaven 17 was formed.

I'm really glad that things happened that way because one of my favorite 80s songs is Temptation which was Heaven 17's most commercial success, however I also love Human League and find it hard to pick a favorite out of their songs - Don't You Want Me, Mirror Man, Fascination....the list just keeps on going.

What is your favorite Heaven 17 and/or Human League song?